Generally, secondary schools experience more difficulties than elementary schools in meeting the demands of inclusive education practices. Article draws on teacher interview data from a study of two Nova Scotia junior high schools attempting to accommodate handicapped students in regular classrooms. Although teachers were fearful and frustrated by…

Through Michael's eyes, this article illustrates personal disconnections between a good, "invisible" kid and his overworked teachers. Anonymity is the curse of the overloaded, specialized American comprehensive high school. Few teachers can be fully effective when teaching five dozen students. Reallocating instructional resources is…

Performance-driven high schools have organizational, management, and governance structures that communicate high expectations. Such schools create a results-oriented culture, strongly support staff development, build community services and "outside" supports for students, help parents support their children's academic progress, and…

Considers derivation of the strategy concept and its deployment as a managerial planning technique. Examines the related growth of school development planning, exploring ways it might be considered strategic. Using strategy in organizations is no longer either possible or appropriate. Proposes an alternative planning basis derived from marginal…

Evaluates the UK government's performance-management initiative for teachers. This measure, which aims to modernize the teaching profession, raise standards, and provide financial rewards for individuals, teams, and whole-school performance, has been soundly criticized. However, the initiative is flawed, as it neglects some important school…

As suggested by standard indicators--truancy, dropout rates, graffiti, vandalism, violence--youngsters in small schools rarely display the anger at the institution and its inhabitants that typifies Columbine and many other comprehensive high schools. Educators must cultivate learning communities and qualities (like empathy and compassion)…

Researchers say transition programs need to last longer than just the first few days of a new school year. Most transition programs consider only one thing helping students adjust to their new school. Schools need to go through a transition process of their own, paying serious attention to the research on transition, adjusting to the students, and…

Explores the relationship between (Ontario) secondary-school organizational structures and implementation of legislated change initiatives. Examines the role of individuals responsible for implementing two legislated curriculum innovations: curriculum integration and performance-based assessment. Implementing whole-school or subject-based…

Almost 25 years ago, Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) explained how educational systems foster a "misrecognition" of the part that schools play in social reproduction. They noted that it is to the advantage of the dominant elements of society and educators themselves to perpetuate a strong belief in the legitimacy of schools as institutions that…

Research has indicated that educators view class size as a factor in improving student learning. This publication summarizes findings about some recently implemented class-size initiatives. It highlights results from Tennessee's reduced class-size experiment of the 1980s; summarizes the efforts and results from other recent state-level initiatives…

Numerous dysfunctions result from bureaucratic school organization, including an overemphasis on specialized tasks, routine operating rules, and formal procedures for managing teaching and learning. Such schools are characterized by numerous regulations; formal communications; centralized decision making; and sharp distinctions among…

A survey of the educational policy and system of West Germany is presented. The federal government and 11 federal states (Laender) operate in conjunction, creating an educational policy that occurs on two levels. A brief historical sketch is followed by a general description of educational policy, planning, and research in the context of the…

A review of research on the feasibility of extending the school day/year is the purpose of this report. The first section discusses the outcomes of such proposals since April 1983 and concludes that they have failed to generate widespread acceptance. The second part assesses the validity of international comparisons used to justify such proposals.…

Strategic planning initiated by the recently created State System of Higher Education (SSHE) in Pennsylvania is examined. Components of the strategic approach found in the literature and dimensions generally considered critical for both strategic formulation and strategic understanding are considered. Attention is directed to the multicampus…

Examines Israeli teacher autonomy in a centrally developed high school curriculum. Describes how teachers view this shift of control and the 50 percent assessment-by-teacher system. Concludes teacher autonomy is not necessarily dependent on the system being noncentralist and that guided freedom increases teacher power and potential effectiveness.…